Dr Zubaida Rahman calls for osteoporosis awareness and screening programmes in all 64 districts

Dr Zubaida Rahman, vice-president of the Ziaur Rahman Foundation and wife of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, has called for coordinated programmes in all 64 districts to ensure treatment for people with osteoporosis and to raise public awareness of the disease.

She said osteoporosis is a silent disease. In this condition bones become weak, thin and porous, sharply increasing the risk of sudden fractures. As a result, the normal lives of those affected are disrupted and their ability to carry out daily work falls.

She made the remarks on Tuesday as chief guest at a scientific seminar held at the convention hall of the Super Specialized Hospital building of Bangladesh Medical University (BMU) in the capital, organised for World Osteoporosis Day. The Doctors Association of Bangladesh (DAB) organised the seminar under the title ‘Osteoporosis: a preventable epidemic’.

Dr Zubaida Rahman said a huge number of people in Bangladesh suffer fractures and long-term hardship because of osteoporosis. Effective steps are needed now to tackle the situation. Through a collective effort, prevention, detection and treatment services for the disease can be taken to people in every region of the country, she said.

She said that according to a 2025 estimate, around six million people in Bangladesh are thought to be affected by osteoporosis. The actual number affected at present could be even higher. Among older people affected, the number of women is notably higher.

Citing a study conducted on women aged 45 to 80 in north-central Bangladesh, she said the study found an osteoporosis prevalence of 40 percent and an osteopenia prevalence of 43.5 percent. More than 83 percent of the women who took part in the study had a deficiency in bone density.

She also noted that an earlier hospital-based study on women aged 46 to 65 in urban areas found an osteoporosis prevalence of 41.8 percent and an osteopenia prevalence of 40.7 percent.

She said women in developing countries are affected by this disease more than women in developed countries. It is difficult to determine a precise figure for how many women in Bangladesh suffer from osteoporosis. More research and regular screening are therefore needed to establish the true picture of the disease, she said.

She also commented that if appropriate preventive measures are taken for girl children and young women, osteoporosis and its complications can be reduced to a large extent in future. She presented this forward-looking approach to prevention as one of the central directions of the programme.

Presenting several proposed steps for prevention, Dr Zubaida Rahman said, first, an osteoporosis society could be formed. Through it, awareness programmes could be run in a coordinated way in all 64 districts. It must be ensured that people in no region suffer the pain and hardship of this disease for lack of awareness and screening, she said.

She said the medical community can play an important role in making the public aware of the risks of osteoporosis and in ensuring proper treatment for those affected. Alongside that, awareness of the disease can be raised nationwide through the one hundred thousand health workers in service.

Second, she proposed observing an osteoporosis awareness month every year. Regular events, rallies and public awareness campaigns could be organised for the occasion. She also stressed seminars for doctors at district hospitals and specialised hospitals on modern diagnostic methods.

Mentioning the need for awareness on public health and nutrition, she said importance must be given to vitamin D deficiency, declining bone mineral density and nutritional matters linked to calcium intake in childhood. Academics and leading figures in the medical field can run awareness programmes on these subjects, she said.

She called for screening camps to measure bone mineral density and for community-based screening opportunities at regular intervals. For areas where there is no facility to measure bone mineral density, she also raised the use of the Fracture Risk Assessment Tool to assess fracture risk.

The seminar was chaired by DAB president Professor Dr Harun Al Rashid. BNP standing committee member and DAB chief adviser Professor Dr Farhad Halim Donar and Dr Abdus Salam MP spoke as special guests. The event included a question-and-answer session, a panel discussion and a quiz.

Professor Dr Erfanul Haque Siddiqui, Professor Dr Faruk Kashem, Professor Dr Syed Akram Hossain, Professor Dr Shamim Ahmed, Dr Sheikh Farid Ahmed and Professor Mohammad Belalul Islam took part in the panel discussion. This year's programme is being observed under the theme ‘Build bones for life, protect and strengthen them’, with scientific support from Incepta. World Osteoporosis Day is observed every year on October 20 to raise awareness of this bone-wasting disease.